Coffeehouse will flee new ballpark

Oriole Park at Camden Yards has helped spawn many new businesses downtown, but it has also played a role in the closing of a more modest neighborhood gathering spot.

The organizer of the Friday night coffeehouse at Old Otterbein United Methodist Church, Sharp and Conway streets, has decided to close the operation and move to Charles Village -- in part because of the new ballpark three blocks away.

The Rev. Douglas Fox, church minister and coordinator of the weekly coffeehouse, said he is shutting it down largely because he fears that the roar of the crowd at the ballpark will drown out the folk music concerts at the coffeehouse. He is also afraid that the traffic congestion and high demand for parking on game nights will make it difficult for coffeehouse patrons to find spaces.